CRC's Crazy Compendium 2; Eclectic Boogaloo

Well seeing as I got this double post and based on the last little comment on the loader below, I thought I’d use the space now. Once I finished the last post (and the comment about proper vehicle markings for 1st Hampshires) I decided while it was in my head to do a little research. Luckily for me, it seems I was right about the vehicle marking that I put on my Jeep several years ago, which is comforting, but also in the research I was reminded of Machine Gun Battalions. Seems like an odd thing to be reminded of, but I’m an odd person…

Let’s start with some basics of vehicle markings in WW2. There are several main ones and a lot that apply only to tanks and armoured divisions (which I won’t touch on too much here), but the basics of unit identification fall within two badges; the division badge, and the ‘unit’ badge (can represent a regiment or a battalion, usually). Here’s an example from my collection:

The brightness is a bit high there, but the badges to look at here are the 68 is a brown square and the red double T’s in the black square. The division badge is the double T, in this case denoting the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division. There’s lots of other badges like the ‘Triforce’ badge of the 3rd Division or the red rat of the 7th Armoured (Desert Rats). These badges are unique to a division, whereas the ‘unit’ badge is shared across all divisions of a particular type (Infantry vs. Armoured being the two most obvious ones).

Using the example of my Jeep, and cross referencing to the details given on that site we find that a brown square with a 68 is the middle infantry battalion of the Junior Brigade. In this case it matches the 1st Hampshires, but as has been stated on a recent forum post, it’s best to have several sources that agree, so here (http://www.classicjeeps.co.uk/military-vehicle-signs-50th-northumbrian-division/) is another source with the same information. So that’s the basics covered.

“But what the hell has this got to do with machine guns?” I hear you cry. We’re getting there, I promise. Have a  Lloyd shot of a tank to help you calm down a bit.

Since WW1 the British had arranged their Machine Gun units as part of the Divisional or Brigade units. That’s an odd way of saying that regular infantry battalions didn’t get machine  guns and they were kept at the brigade or division level and dished out to the units in the field where they were needed. There are badges that would denote this on the uniforms, but I just stick to division badges on my chaps but for vehicles they would need to be identified. Just as today, a brigadier would not want his truck for carrying his big guns to ‘disappear’ while the PBI have ‘found’ themselves a nice new set of wheels. So let’s go back to our badges and the legend on the website.

At the divisional level we see an entry for ‘Divisional Support Battalion’ which handily describes itself with Machine Guns and Mortars (heavy mortars in this case) and links to a black square with a 64 in it, and so we have our correct badge! Luckily the Warlord kit does have that decal in the transfer set, so maybe in the future it may make an appearance?

Should be noted that this is a level of detail that some people might find a bit off-putting or intense, and that’s cool. Not everyone is in to such maddening levels as I can be sometimes, but finding these details can be a little problematic sometimes so this is here to help anyone else interested. Here’s a few links to some site I found in my research for anyone who wants a bit of a jump start into their own research:

Infantry Div. Markings: http://britmods.freehosting.net/infdiv.htm

WW2 Infantry Battalion Organisation: http://www.kerynne.com/games/BritishInfantryBttnTOE.html

Machine Gun Battalions: https://vickersmg.blog/in-use/british-service/the-british-army/divisional-machine-gun-battalions/